ABSTRACT
Capitalism’s hour of greatest triumph is its hour of crisis. The fall of the Berlin Wall ended more than a century of political competition between capitalism and communism. Capitalism virtually stands alone as the only feasible way to rationally organize a modern economy. At this moment in history, no responsible nation has a choice. As a result, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, third world and former Soviet nations have balanced their budgets, cut subsidies, welcomed foreign investment, and dropped their tariff barriers. Unfortunately, however, their efforts have been repaid with bitter disappointment. From Russia to Venezuela, the past half-decade has been a time of economic suffering, tumbling incomes, anxiety, and resentment.
